PHY-Layer Signature Scheme Securing Wi-Fi 6 Connection Establishment Against Relay and Spoofing
A backward-compatible defense for the unprotected connection-establishment phase of IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). A legitimate AP signs its MAC address and a timestamp, slices the signature, and embeds one slice into each unicast pre-authentication frame's PHY-layer preamble without extending frame size, chaining the frames with timing constraints that block relay and replay of authentic preambles. Stations verify APs from consistent PHY-header patterns without inspecting MAC headers, supporting concurrent multi-station verification, and the scheme is validated on a USRP testbed with 96-100% relay-attack detection plus formal security analysis.
Securing Wi-Fi 6 Connection Establishment Against Relay and Spoofing Threats Naureen Hoque and Hanif
Wi-Fi's connection-establishment (pre-authentication) phase is unprotected: WPA3/802.11w secure frames only at the MAC layer after the four-way handshake, leaving PHY-layer preambles and management-f…